How can you tell your turbo vanes are not eroded? It takes only a very small gap to form between the vane and the housing to necessitate more back pressure. From what I have seen, very few people understand the relationship between boost pressure and back pressure.As a turbo ages it requires more back pressure to create the same boost pressure. The end result is a loss of power easily measured on a chassis dyno.The fact that some of you guys are getting 200,000+ miles on your turbos is a huge improvement over the average.Ask any Saab or VW repair shop how many turbos they replace, its great for business.From what I can tell, Volvo does a better job with the turbo longevity than anybody else. I am not slamming turbos, my next car may have one.Its just that the performance improvement does not come free. Incidently, it has been shown that a bypass filter greatly enhances turbo bearing life, which will improve rotor erosion problems considerably.
Those Evil SAABs
- Thread starter BrianWC
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carock: I'll agree with you on the post about turbo's going south after several thousand miles. Mine died at 247K miles in my 87 Volvo 745T and I can tell you that in the last 50K of its life I had to turn up the boost to get the same performance.
It also was taking longer (lag) to spin up the boost as it got older.
It also was taking longer (lag) to spin up the boost as it got older.
The 1984 900 Turbo that I bought in 1987 and sold in 2003 (with 292k miles) never saw any conventional motor oil. And the original turbo was just fine.
Use the wrong oil, lose your engine.
Use the wrong oil, lose your engine.
Wow,you got 292K on the original turbo? Seriously, I never heard of that kind of mileage on a gasoline engined turbo.Good carma! I used Redline on most customer turbos and never saw any sludging.One of the many reasons I recommend synthetics. People on this board keep posting about the cost/benefit of synthetics but never include the savings from reduced repairs as a result of running synthetics.
Wow, I'm impressed with that.
Check this guy out. He was a hit at the annual Saab Owners' Convention
He just put his millionth mile on a 1989 Saab 900 SPG
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2006/08/the_onemanmilli.html
Check this guy out. He was a hit at the annual Saab Owners' Convention
He just put his millionth mile on a 1989 Saab 900 SPG
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2006/08/the_onemanmilli.html
Carock:
I agree. I had a 1987 9000 Turbo. I had 285,000+ miles on mine. All original. It died when a head gasket busted while my wife was driving. Pumped out all the coolant and she did not realize it until too late. Good car. I would not mind finding another one and refurbishing it to new quality. It was a great car!
I agree. I had a 1987 9000 Turbo. I had 285,000+ miles on mine. All original. It died when a head gasket busted while my wife was driving. Pumped out all the coolant and she did not realize it until too late. Good car. I would not mind finding another one and refurbishing it to new quality. It was a great car!
I saw what appears to be the same pic on SAABnet. I recall reading that the owner was using the wrong oil. We've had any number of turbo SAABs, going all the way back to the old "B" engine, in the '70s when the whole enterprise of turbocharging was regarded by many as just another evidence of SAAB's "quirkiness." We have never had any difficulty whatever with SAAB turbos. I followed the oil change intervals (I do my own), using Pennzoil 5W-30. We had a '79 B engine turbo that had over 150K on the original turbo when we bought it. We put a lot of miles on it, no troubles except for getting into a batch of bad gas while on vacation in Pennsylvania, clogged up the fuel filter.
We're now driving our 14th SAAB, an '04 9-5 wagon. No turbo troubles with it, either, and I don't expect any.
We're now driving our 14th SAAB, an '04 9-5 wagon. No turbo troubles with it, either, and I don't expect any.
The saga continues. In the current ssue of NINES, the SAAB magazine, respected SAAB specialist and NINES contributor Chuck Andrews found that even some of the NEW replacement oil pumps he'd ordered from SAAB's suppliers were beyond factory tolerances......
Jeez, 14 Saabs. I thought I was wacky with 15 Audis.
I have just been looking for a new car to replace my 325i. A Saab 9-5 is my top choice. I had a 96 900s that would not pass emissions because the check engine light was always on. Had that problem since it was new.Saabs are very comfortable cars for long distance driving, and pretty agile around town. A great mix for a sedan. They need to work on their electrical gremlins though...
I've had no electrical probs w/ my 9-5. On my 900, the battery cable corroded off the day I brought it home, leaving me very mad. The heat off the exhaust side of the turbo and dp can play havoc with the positive terminal. Prsonally, I miss having to fix something every now and then. If it weren't for the sludge thing, I'd be as bored as I am when driving my Honda...
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